What Is A Toxic NCO Corps?

John Quincy Adams said it best when he said, “if your actions aspire others to dream more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” The Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) Corps are the backbone of the Army and the leader of Soldiers. NCOs instills discipline and direction for Soldiers to become great leaders one day, but yet NCOs are making their ranks toxic in nature by not abiding and not living by the NCO Creed. Why is the NCO Corps constantly having problems with leaders creating toxic work environments from their actions and leadership? Could it be that NCOs are becoming more narcistic and losing their integrity to enforce their backbone? If the NCO Corps does not correct this toxicant that is corrupting the Corps from within, the Corps
will lose its most prestigious backbone, and the Army will no longer be great. The NCOs needs to find the depth and root of the problems, analyze the pros and cons, then correct the problems and eradicate the toxicants from within the Corps.
The NCO Corps is dated back to 1778, where Fredrick Von Steuben's created the Corps and the “Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United State” (TC 7-22.7, 2015), which today is called the Blue Book. Ever since then, the NCO Corps instills order and discipline through the Soldiers. Except for the few who create the toxic environment and the bad leadership, which if not stop will grow like the plague through the ranks of the Army and lose what the NCO Corps have instilled for years.
One of the problems of the toxic NCOs is narcissistic behaviors. Lacking empathy or disregarding the feelings of others and talking down to others without regard. NCOs are letting their personal grievances, emotions, and fears come out into open where the Soldiers are earshot away or even in the middle of these issues. This should not be happening at all. NCOs never gripe, bitch, complain or say bad things about the Army, Command, Mission, and fellow

Soldiers or NCOs to subordinates, if they ever do it will be to the higher chain of command. You gripe up, never down. For example, a Soldier in a platoon is approached by an NCO. The NCO starts complaining about their Platoon Leader (PL) not knowing his /her job, stating the PL does not know his/her hand from his/her ass. This is a common example on what is happening throughout the NCO Corps. If subordinates hear these issues, they lose faith in the mission, leadership, and in the NCO. Soldiers will lose trust in the Corps, and the backbone will be broken. If there is no trust within the ranks or the mission, the unit is weak and will fail as whole.
Another problem of a toxic NCO Corps is integrity of leaders not holding up to the standards or enforcing the standards. Integrity means the NCO’s duty and responsibility to uphold the bottom line of the Army’s regulations and policies. Standards, to be wearing of the uniform in accordance with AR 670-1: Wear and Appearance of the Army Uniform and Insignia, or executing physical training in the morning in the guidelines of FM 7-22: Physical Readiness Training, providing a standard upon which to base their actions on. NCOs are having more problems keeping the integrity of upholding the standards. For instance, NCO is wearing his/her blouse with his/her sleeves cuffed walking through the Dining Facility where that junior enlisted Soldiers venture. The junior enlisted Soldiers observe the NCO with the cuffed sleeves, which they witness a fellow NCO approach and greet the NCO, and then leave without correcting the NCO with cuffed sleeves. Standards are enforced to ensure a sense of discipline, uniformity, and commonality within the Soldiers. “Noncommissioned officers must discipline others by first disciplining themselves” (Time-Honored Professionals. 1989). Basically, without standards and discipline the Army would find its self-unable to function and ineffective.

The root of these problems is bad leadership starting from the top, which is trickling all the way down to fellow NCOs. NCOs are not being strict and not demonstrating discipline to correct other NCOs or leaders. These are leaders who teach bad leadership traits, which are doing nothing to stop these narcistic behaviors, or preventing the lack of integrity to enforce the NCO’s duty and responsibility to the Soldier. The negative impact of a toxic NCO Corps can lead into manipulating, isolation, and ostracize his or her subordinates.
The squad, platoon, and even the unit will be negatively impacted. Meaning, a negative or toxic NCO is around, Soldiers will either look to move away from that NCO or they will jump on the destructive NCO’s train and create a rift in the unit. From these actions will create animosity, high drama, gossip, team sabotage, high emotions, and anxiety will occur among the Soldiers and NCOs. This can split a team, squad, platoon, and so forth; where the group loses trust into each other. Furthermore, making the team or the unit’s mission ineffective. Once the toxic environment is emplaced, negativity turns away from the toxic NCO and focuses on destruction of the team. This is how toxicants spread through a unit like a plague, destroying the integrity, honor, bond of a team and their relationships amongst each other. The toxic NCO Corps will create toxic climates by changing the establishment’s culture of the Army, and the Army will forever be destructive and
toxic. The positive impact of a non-toxic NCO Corps will give discipline, professionalism, mentorship, honor, and integrity towards the Soldiers and the Army. Discipline will give the NCO Corp a code or rules to live by. This will give the Army discipline to following orders of their superiors without question. Having the discipline to flowing orders will always help complete the mission with ease and less problems. Non-toxic NCO can demonstrate

professionalism without focusing on the negative. For example, when you have an NCO never displays his negative personal emotions while conducting to his/her job to his/her subordinates. You will then, not have a subordinate to replicate or follow negatively towards the mission because of the NCO’s example of professionalism. This will have the domino effect, where one Soldier or NCO witnesses the professionalism of a positive leader, then others will replicate or follow in the leaders’ professionalism. Mentorship from a non-toxic NCO provides an opportunity to help young Soldiers attain professional assets and Soldier skills needed to better deal with Army and real-life challenges. Positive mentorship will create a positive impact to Soldiers and to the Army’s mission. Having a non-toxic leader who displays discipline, fairness, integrity, and direction will achieve honor amongst the subordinates and fellow leaders. Honor is earned not given, and you only achieve that from a non-toxic environment and leadership. Honor is Army Value, that motivates Soldiers to accomplish missions and win wars. In a non-toxic NCO Corps, the Corps will have trust amongst the ranks which will build integrity. If you have integrity, then you will have faith and trust in the Corps to protect and guide Soldiers to accomplish the mission.
Correcting these problems, starts with the NCO and the leader.
Once they start holding themselves accountable, then you can correct the problems and issues. This takes every leader to correct and enforce the standards to everyone in the ranks of the Army. There are no exceptions to upholding and being accountable to the standard, polices, regulations, and the law. Next, not letting your personal feeling or toxic language to infect your subordinates or fellow Soldiers. Never gripe to your subordinates, if you do always gripe to your peers or your chain of command. Lastly, it’s not about you, it’s about your team and unit. NCOs never put
themselves

first, always put your Soldiers and your unit first. The job of an NCO and leader is to guide, train, enforce, motivate, and be fair. Be selfless! These are the corrections you need to create a non-toxic NCO Corps.
Toxic NCO Corps is a problem in the Army, and it’s not going away any time. The NCO Corp was not created to create toxic environment. The NCO is meant to enforce discipline, provide direction, protection, and to be fair and impartial to Soldiers. Yet, the narcissistic behaviors of a leader are pouring into the Army way of life and influencing or separating the Soldiers from each other to create a toxic and destructive environment. NCOs are not being accountable to the standards, which its letting Soldiers not being accountable. These toxic NCOs are what are plaguing the Corps of NCOs. Right now, the negative impacts of the toxic NCO Corps are out weighing the positive impacts, which is affecting the Army. If we can correct these problems, then we’ll lose this toxic NCO Corps, but it starts with the NCO being accountable for his or her actions and enforcing those standards. NCO fixes themselves first, then they can start immolating and enforcing the standards. Once these issues have been resolved, then the toxicants can be eradicated for the NCO Corps.